Cord guide



March 29, 1955 P. SIPLER, JR

CORD GUIDE Filed June 11, 1952 INVENTOR.

Peace fi'ljO/ez; If:

ATTORNEY United States Patent CORD GUIDE Pence Sipler, Jr., Flemington,N. J.

Application June 11, 1952, Serial No. 293,020

4 Claims. (Cl. 223-102) My invention relates generally to cord guidesand specifically to cord guides having a slot adapted to receive andretain a length of cord.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide a cord guide intowhich a length of cord may be forced and retained by the cord guide.

It is among the further objects of my invention to provide a cord guidewith a slot formed to frictionally retain a length of cord.

It is among the further objects of my invention to provide a cord guidewith a slot that will frictionally retain a length of cord and yetrelease it upon the exertion of force.

It is among the further objects of my invention to provide a cord guidewhich is simple in form, relatively inexpensive to construct, durableand easy to use.

These objects and advantages, as well as other objects and advantages,may be achieved by the device illustrated in the appended drawings, inwhich:

Figure l is a vertical front view of my cord guide showing the slot;

Figure 2 is a vertical side view of my cord guide;

Figure 3 is a top view of my cord guide showing the bore and slot;

Figure 4 is a partial side view of my cord guide showing the cord whenfirst inserted; and

Figure 5 is a vertical side view showing the top portion of my cordguide with the cord partially pulled up in the slot into the position inwhich it is gripped by the sides of the slot.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, my cord guide has a body member11 which is a cylindrical rod. It is preferably solid and formed of aheavy metal. One end 12 is tapered somewhat to facilitate ease ofinsertion, but it need not come to a point. The other end 13 is providedwith an axial bore 14 extending for perhaps an inch or two toward theopposite end 12.

At the top of the bore 14, a longitudinal radial slot 15 extends fromthe peripheral surface of the member 11 inwardly until it intersectswith the bore 14. This slot 15 is tapered from top to bottom. At the top16, the slot is wide enough to receive a cord 17 that is forced into thebore 14. Near the bottom 18, the slot 15 is approximately as wide as thediameter of the bore 14. The wall of the body member 11 is cut awaytransversely near the bottom 18, to the bottom of the bore 14 to form awidened opening 19 at. the lower end of the slot 15. The wall is therecut away to the center of the bore 14 to the line of the greatestdiameter of the member 11.

My cord guide is for use in inserting cords in the slots of Venetianblind slats after they have been installed in the ladder tape. In laddertapes, cross-straps connect the back and front faces of the tapes, andthese straps are disposed on alternate sides of the slots in the slatsin order to support the slats. It is quite difiicult to thread the cords(for raising the blinds) through the slots and among the alternatingcross-straps. My cord guide makes it easy.

The end of the cord 17 is disposed overlying the slot 15 and extending ashort distance beyond the bottom of the bore 14. The cord 17 is thenforced into the slot 15, so that it will appear as in Figure 4. The endof the cord 17 is then pulled upwardly to the position shown in Figure5. The converging sides of the slot 15 will grip the cord 17 and retainit sufliciently so that the cord guide may be manipulated to thread thecord 17 through the slots in the slats. When the operation is completed,a slight extra pull will remove the cord from the guide.

Cords are readily deformable. The bottom of the slot 15 is approximatelythe width of the bore 14 which is wide enough to receive the cord 17.But the sides of the slot 15 converge toward the top until the width ofthe slot 15 is less than the normal diameter of the cord 17. It is herewhere the cord 17 must be compressed and forced into the slot 15.

The foregoing description is merely intended to illustrate an embodimentof the invention. The component parts have been shown and described.They each may have substitutes which may perform a substantially similarfunction; such substitutes may be known as proper substitutes for saidcomponents and may have actually been known or invented before thepresent invention; these substitutes are contemplated as being withinthe scope of the appended claims, although they are not specificallycatalogued herein.

I claim:

1. A cord guide comprising a rod shaped body member with an axial boreof constant diameter at one end thereof and a longitudinal radial slotextending from the peripheral surface of the body member andintersecting with the bore, said slot having non-parallel sidesconverging toward the said end of the body member at which point thewidth of the slot is less than the diameter of the bore, and said bodymember further having a wedgeshaped cut away portion in the side wallsof the slot and cut away at the wider end of the slot.

2. A cord guide comprising a rod shaped body member with an axial boreof constant diameter extending from one end toward the other end, saidbore having a diameter calculated to slidably receive a cord, said bodymember further having a longitudinal radial slot extending from theperipheral surface of the body member and intersecting with the borealong its entire length, said slot having non-parallel sides convergingtoward the said end of the body member at which point the width of theslot is less than the diameter of the bore, and a wedgeshaped portioncut from the body member at the bottom of the bore.

3. A cord guide comprising a rod shaped body member with an axial boreof constant diameter extending from one end toward the other end, saidbore having a diameter calculated to slidably receive a cord, said bodymember further having a longitudinal radial slot extending from theperipheral surface of the body member and intersecting with the borealong its entire length, said slot having non-parallel sides convergingtoward the said end of the body member and at the narrower end beinglesser in width than the diameter of the bore, and a wedge-shapedportion cut from the body member at the bottom of the bore.

4. A cord guide comprising a rod-shaped body member with an axial boreof constant diameter extending from one end toward the other end, saidbore having a diameter calculated to slidably receive a cord, said bodymember further having a longitudinal radial slot extending from theperipheral surface of the body member and intersecting with the borealong its entire length, said slot having non-parallel sides convergingtoward the said end of the body member, and said sides diverging to thewidth of the bore in the opposite direction, and narrowing to less thanthe width of the bore at the other end, and a wedge-shaped cut awayportion in the side walls of the slot and at the bottom of the bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS604,119 Lowe May 17, 1898 1,974,052 Lang Sept. 18, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS4,039 Great Britain 1906

